LAMY Safari Rollerball Review

With my love for all things Safari, you would think I would have reviewed the LAMY Safari Rollerball by now. I checked, and I haven’t, although Jeff did share his opinion a few years back. It’s time for me to get on the board as well.

The LAMY Safari Fountain Pen has been a long time favorite of mine - this 2008 review is hilarious - and the Safari Ballpoint is a more recent fascination. (Side note: we don’t mention the Safari Mechanical Pencil around these parts.) While those two pens see regular use in my writing kit, it’s only with the 2024 Violet Blackberry Rollerball Special Edition did I commit to using one. So far, I’m thoroughly enjoying it.

Let’s get the obvious LAMY Safari issue out of the way first. This is not a pen for everyone due to the molded grip section that “places” your fingers into a set writing position. That’s all well and good if you have a traditional writing grip like I do, but it is a non-starter for many people for a valid reason.

I’m fortunate that it does work for me, because aesthetically I love everything about the Safari design. All of the bright colors they have released through the years - either in standard or special editions - are right up my alley, and they can design a pretty good dark-themed pen, too. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the famous LAMY Safari pen clip, which I also enjoy. It’s ostentatious, but somehow works.

With design talk out of the way, it is time to focus on what can make or break a rollerball pen: the refill. LAMY uses their proprietary M63 Rollerball refill and, luckily, it is a good one. I say luckily, because the downside of a proprietary refill is that it is difficult to hack in another refill if you love the pen but hate the refill. There is a Pilot G2 hack out there if you want to cut an extender for that particular refill, but otherwise, the M63 is your lone choice.

As best as I can tell without markings, the M63 Rollerball tip is approximately 1.0 mm. This is in the normal range for water-based rollerball refills, and while my preference lies in 0.7 mm tip sizes (there are a few rare 0.5 mm and finer rollerballs out there, but that’s an article for another day,) the M63 is manageable for my writing. Importantly, given the wide line size, it hasn’t exhibited bleeding and feathering on the papers I’ve tested it on, but I’m sure there are some non-compatible fibers out there. My expectations when I pick up this pen are a dark, controllable line, and the M63 delivers.

Fountain pen, top, Ballpoint, bottom.

Should you buy a LAMY Rollerball pen? As much as I enjoy them, there is a solid list of pros (good refill, style,) and cons (grip, broad line,) to consider. At $20, the price is fair if you are interested, so add one to the list if it checks the right boxes for you.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Pentel Floatune Rollerball Pen Review

The Pentel Floatune is a recent pen release that has found its way on to big box retail store shelves. This category is always of great interest to me because one, they are widely available, and two, I want to know what is different about it. This is not an area where we see many new entrants - or at least new entrants that stick around for years at a time - so what is this pen all about?

For starters, the name. According to Pentel, the Floatune “enables your ideas to float down the stream of imagination.” This is due to the “synergy of a new water based ink infused with an oil-based lubricant and a finely tuned pen tip mechanism provides a smooth, floating-like writing experience.” Staying on theme, Pentel would like you to know that it also “floats across the page without skipping (unlike some pens,)” even on papers that matter most, such as “Greeting Cards, Receipts, Journals.”

Ok Pentel Marketing Department, you earned your keep this month!

Joking aside, this is information I want to see. Tell me what is different about your product, and why I should consider purchasing it. With the Floatune, the idea is that you will get smooth, wide, rich, skip-free lines on the page, and will look good doing it.

The key to Pentel’s marketing is the oil-infused water-based ink, and in my early testing, it is great. The best feature so far is the skip-free aspect of the line. It is solid, almost marker like, and yes, it floats - glides smoothly - across the page. The color is nice, and, oddly enough, feels like one of the most fountain pen adjacent standard inks I have used.

Top to bottom: Pentel Floatune 0.8 mm, Ajoto Pen with Schmidt P8127 0.7 mm, Lamy Safari Extra Fine Nib, Pilot Precise V5 0.5 mm, Uni-ball Vision Ultra MIcro 0.38 mm.

I did some comparisons with other water-based ink pens I use frequently, including my favorite Schmidt P8127 rollerball refill, and the Floatune held its own. By measurements, its 0.8 mm tip size is the widest I used, and I think even that sells it short. It is closer to a 1.0 mm line width on the page, or at least feels like that when writing. I would love to see the Floatune in 0.5 mm, similar to how Uni-ball brought their Vision rollerball all the way down to the Ultra Micro 0.38 mm size.

If the Pentel Sign Pen had a metal tip.

I used the Studio Neat Keepbook for testing because it is an absorbent page. Only the fountain pen ink bled through. The Floatune (top,) showed no feathering or bleeding.

But that’s just me, a proponent of fine lines. The Floatune may not be made for me, but it is a great choice if this is a category of pen you like.

The one hangup I have with the Floatune ties directly back to my friends at the Pentel Marketing department. This pen is made with “62% post-consumer recycled material,” but guess what? It is not refillable. Do not tell me your environmental bonafides when I have to throw away a complete $3 pen once I run out of ink. And you will run out of ink quickly at this level of ink output on the page.

Lines widest to finest.

Good stuff on the back of the page - no issues.

I think the Pentel Floatune is a good pen as long as it fits your needs going into the purchase. Lots of large-sized writing and notes? Perfect. Fine details? Not so much. I bought mine at JetPens, where they are $3 per pen, of $5.75 for a two-pack, in Blue, Black, or Red ink, and in 0.8 mm or 1.0 mm tip sizes.

Time will tell if this will be a new flagship pen for Pentel. My gut says no, especially when they have the comparable - and comparably better - Pentel Energy in their own lineup, but let’s check back in a couple of years and see where the Floatune is.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!

YSTUDIO Ocean Sustainable Rollerball Pen Review

The YSTUDIO Ocean Sustainable Rollerball Pen was one of my most anticipated releases of the year, and, in typical YSTUDIO fashion, they delivered a great product.

YSTUDIO came on the scene several years ago, and gained popularity with their lineup of Brassing pens. The concept was to use an underlying brass barrel and coat it with a matte-like black paint which will wear off with age. My favorite is the Brassing Portable Fountain Pen, which quickly became a mainstay in my collection.

Years later, YSTUDIO added resin models to their product lineup for those who didn’t like the weight of their full-metal pens. These, too, performed well. I reviewed the Resin Fountain Pen, and while there was a converter issue with the early models, it turned into a fast favorite as well.

There is something about those faceted barrels, and YSTUDIO got me again with their most colorful release to date.

The Ocean Sustainable Rollerball series features resin barrel made from reclaimed fishing nets in Taiwan. These plastic nets are recovered, recycled, and transformed into the pens you see here. To read more about this process, YSTUDIO has built a page discussing the steps involved. There is great detail shared here, and is well worth your time.

The finished product is classic YSTUDIO, with a range of barrel colors that pop. I chose Sky Blue, which, according to them, represents “open-mindedness, and a clear and radiant heart.” Ok, maybe you don’t need your pen to hit you in the feels like that, but I do appreciate the story they are trying to tell across the product lineup. Each of the other four colors - Dawn Yellow, Sunset Orange, Evening Purple, and Sea Indigo - has their own story to tell.

From a writing perspective, it’s fantastic. This isn’t a small pen, but it works exceptionally well in the hand due to the plastic barrel fronted by a brass grip section. I love the balance and control this setup provides. The only downside is that the taper of the metal section is smooth, and if you have dry fingers, they may slide down. I tend to grip it a bit further back, as the angle of the grip is steep as well.

Ghosting on the back of the Maurman Mnemosyne A5 Notepad. This is an awesome writing paper, especially for fountain pens, but dark, wide, rollerball pens look like this on many paper types.

Fortunately, the refill in use fits the design of the pen perfectly. The Schmidt 5888F Ceramic Roller in Black features a dark, rich line. The tip is marked as 0.6 mm, but given the traditional water-based rollerball ink, the line on the page is wider. To me, it writes like an 0.7 mm marker tip, which is great if that is your expectation. If not, and you use it on fibrous paper, you will see it bleed and feather on the page.

Refill access through the back of the pen. Easy to twist with your fingernail.

I like this refill as an option, but if I want to switch it up, it is compatible with Pilot G2 refills. That means you have hundreds of options to choose from. I’m sticking with the Schmidt for now, as I like the setup and feel of the pen barrel and ink combination.

Will you like it? As I say with every YSTUDIO pen I review, it may not be for you. They are a favorite brand of mine, but there are things to think about when buying one for yourself. Will I like the barrel shape, and feel? Does the grip work for me? Do I have to change the refill to better fit my style? Finally, is it worth $50, which is the going price for the Ocean Sustainable Rollerball?

My answers to those questions made it one of the easiest purchases of the year. Your mileage may vary.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)S